If you're a lazy astronomer, the kinda person who likes gazing into the night sky but never plans ahead, good news: NASA has launched a new service which will pop you a text message or email whenever the international space station is about to pass over your place, so you can dash outside and take a look.

The service, known as Spot the Station, lets you sign up for alerts to be sent when the ISS passes over one of 4,600 locations worldwide. The passing times are calculated by scientists at the Johnson Space Center so, you know, they're probably correct.

Once you've signed up, you'll get an SMS or email every time the ISS is nearby, telling you when it will be visible, from what direction it'll appear, and how long it'll linger in the night sky. Perfect. [Spot the Station via PhysOrg via Verge]